Input on Nevada / Utah trip

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Okki

New member
A friend of mine is flying to the US with his family 12 April into Vegas and from there hitting :
  • Las Vegas
  • Death valley (tour)
  • Hoover dam / Grand Canyon /Hermits Rest rd
  • Helios boat tour / Monument Valley
  • Mesa Verde
  • islands in the sky (including horseshoe)
  • Arches
  • Capitol Reef
  • Petrified Forest
  • Bryce
  • Zion

He's in a rental, so no real trail options, but anyone any suggestions on what he should do to see more/better than the average tourist?

Any local insight is greatly appreciated!
Okki
 
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They are staying in hotel/motel/lodges. Since they are flying in from Europe, that means rental car and limited gear They do hike and should be coming prepared for that.

Thanks for the suggestions!
Okki
 
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April 12 be probably last time in high 80s or even 90s maybe in DV but with all the rain could be nice with all spring flowers , but all of the desert should be good ! Valley of Fire is short drive from Vegas is cool . Mt Charleston lots of snow nice short drive to lodge ?
 
Okki said:
They are doing Arches in Moab. Any other suggestions? They are staying in town. Some of the cool things around Moab (like Tushers Tunnel) they will likely not attempt due to the rental car.
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Spend the $$ and rent a Jeep for a day in Moab and do some simple trails (Finns n Things, etc.) It's not cheap (around $300 incl. insurance) but for a small group it can be fun and a good life experience (assuming the friends don't have back roading experience.)

Valley of Fire / The Fire Wave and Rainbow Vista is awesome. You can walk around hors-piste and explore.

Another feature in the "area" that is little known is The White Pocket which a careful competent driver in a rental soft SUV can get to. Great geological feature to wander around in, great for photographers in evening or morning light, even more awesome if there have been recent rains or snow.

DSCF6627-XL.jpg


Capital Reef is scenic for a drive-through from Points A to Point C, but there's not that much to "do" without getting really involved.

Bryce you can see in a half-day. Zion, make sure you try and run The Narrows though in April the river might be running too hard.

Don't skip out on Needles District in Canyonlands, it will be on your way from Monument Valley to Moab, and offers very scenic day hiking options that aren't too hard (assuming you're reasonably capable.)

IMG_1454-XL.jpg


Obviously, sample the brews at Moab Brewery :D

It's a part of the world I could return to for weeks, every year, year after year.
 
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Arches is going to suck. They are doing work construction so traffic is going to be bad.

What about Canyonlands or Dead Horse State Park in Moab.

Dinosaur National Monument if they want to come further North. Great Basin National Park in Nevada.
 
Okki said:
A friend of mine is flying to the US with his family 12 April into Vegas and from there hitting :
  • Las Vegas
  • Death valley (tour)
  • Hoover dam / Grand Canyon /Hermits Rest rd
  • Helios boat tour / Monument Valley
  • Mesa Verde
  • islands in the sky (including horseshoe)
  • Arches
  • Capitol Reef
  • Petrified Forest
  • Bryce
  • Zion

He's in a rental, so no real trail options, but anyone any suggestions on what he should do to see more/better than the average tourist?

Any local insight is greatly appreciated!
Okki
Click to expand...

I have plenty of suggestions, but first ...
How many weeks does he have for this Grand Tour?
Does he have lodging booked, or is that flexible?
Does "Death Valley (tour)" mean a booked one-day in-and-out from Vegas?
And as have others have mentioned, does he hike? Is he into geology? Is he interested in native American culture?
 
Don't mean to hijack, but is Moab worth making the weekend trip out there? I assume it's pretty easy to setup camp? If so, what are good routes for stock TRDP?

A lot of the information I have gathered seems very high level... I guess I should just pack up my things and just head out there... :llama:
 
Las Vegas
Death valley (tour)
Hoover dam / Grand Canyon /Hermits Rest rd
Helios boat tour / Monument Valley
Mesa Verde
islands in the sky (including horseshoe)
Arches
Capitol Reef
Petrified Forest
Bryce
Zion
Click to expand...

I'd definitely skip these and spend 2 days more time in Utah or AZ.

* Las Vegas
* Death valley (tour)
* Hoover dam / Grand Canyon /Hermits Rest rd

Death Valley is cool place but comparing it to Utah/AZ just isn't fair. I've been to DV plenty, been nearly everywhere. Save the three days and go straight to next on the list.


They are doing Arches in Moab. Any other suggestions? They are staying in town. Some of the cool things around Moab (like Tushers Tunnel) they will likely not attempt due to the rental car.
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How long will they be in US? How long for Utah? Given the places you listed I assume 2-3 weeks. At least 2 weeks right? Since they are flying in from EU I assume they understand it takes half a day to a whole day o get between many of the places on their list. You are talking a nearly week of driving along to do that list. Personally I would trim it down by half or at least enough to spend 2+ days time in a each locality. Then in Moab area allocate 5 days.


I really really recommend driving through the Canyonlands White Rim trail. You can do it in a basic jeep. Once in a lifetime experience. I took this pic right on the trail.

PnNSfpu.jpg
 
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Vegas local since '12....

In a rental, go from the airport up to Boulder City, go to the Boulder City Brewing pub for lunch or if it's a weekend night for the live music, Check out the Hoover Dam and do the bridge walk above it, then head back towards Vegas and take the scenic route through Lake Mead national recreation area, before you get to Henderson theres a road that heads towards North Las Vegas in the park, take that and skip the exit to North Las Vegas, if you continue down the road (About 40 miles if I remember correct) it eventually leads you right into Valley of Fire State Park, the drive there is beautiful and makes you feel like you're thousands of miles from humanity, lots of hiking and swimming along the whole route and camping if they're up for that... From Valley of Fire just hop 15 north into Utah and the options are endless.....

GO TO PARK CITY UTAH! Most beautiful place in America!
 
kott3670 said:
Vegas local since '12....

In a rental, go from the airport up to Boulder City, go to the Boulder City Brewing pub for lunch or if it's a weekend night for the live music, Check out the Hoover Dam and do the bridge walk above it, then head back towards Vegas and take the scenic route through Lake Mead national recreation area, before you get to Henderson theres a road that heads towards North Las Vegas in the park, take that and skip the exit to North Las Vegas, if you continue down the road (About 40 miles if I remember correct) it eventually leads you right into Valley of Fire State Park, the drive there is beautiful and makes you feel like you're thousands of miles from humanity, lots of hiking and swimming along the whole route and camping if they're up for that... From Valley of Fire just hop 15 north into Utah and the options are endless.....

GO TO PARK CITY UTAH! Most beautiful place in America!
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Another Vegas local here. This is a real nice drive. I also spend a lot of time in southern UT. I would recommend after Zion, on the way to Bryce, hit Cedar Breaks National Monument if open. It's small but in my opinion much prettier than Zion or Bryce and it isn't far from the 89 on your way to Bryce. Snow may not allow for this though and I don't know when the road opens to it. I believe it is sometime in mid April.
 
We have rented Jeeps with another couple and they are the favorite memories from many trips to Vegas:

Las Vegas Jeep Tours

Both women also drove the jeeps in our trip to Logandale and they loved it. Rock climbing was mind-blowing but still very safe with the owner as a guide. Also ran the sand dunes which was cool.

Farabee Rentals & Tours | Death Valley and Colorado!
Rented jeeps for 2 full days. You get a satellite phone and plan your own drives which we really liked. Death Valley is an amazing place.
 
Okki said:
A friend of mine is flying to the US with his family 12 April into Vegas and from there hitting :
  • Las Vegas
  • Death valley (tour)
  • Hoover dam / Grand Canyon /Hermits Rest rd
  • Helios boat tour / Monument Valley
  • Mesa Verde
  • islands in the sky (including horseshoe)
  • Arches
  • Capitol Reef
  • Petrified Forest
  • Bryce
  • Zion
Click to expand...
Kind of hard to suggest anything without knowing total length of time and if hotels have been booked for any/all of the dates they will be here. But, I would also suggest Goblin Valley State Park and Little Wildhorse Canyon-Goblin Valley because it is such a unique landscape, and Little Wildhorse because it is the most easily accessed slot canyon around.

Yes, the construction in Arches will suck, but it shouldn't be too bad if one drives in really early, unlike the typical tourist who enters later in the morning. As they are coming from Europe & have Arches on the list, I'm going to assume they have never been there before, which means they absolutely need to see it.
 
They are here 12 April through 29 April. They have lodging indicated for their entire stay, so I'm guessing it's all been booked.

Thank you all for the great input so far. They are really excited about the trip. It's the first visit for the kids to the USA, so the great American West will be inspiring.

Okki
 
One last thing, I'm not sure if there is "cool" petrified forests, The one in Valley of Fire state park is cool but not anything I'd ever look back on and go "that was worthwhile" So me personally, if they need to cut anything out I would skip that. If anyone knows any petrified forests that are actually worth the drive I would love to know, just the one in Valley of Fire was kind of a waste. Cool to see if you're already there but I wouldn't make it my mission to see them specifically, the history is cool but it's just rocks with placards saying they used to be trees
 
We are also planning a first time trip to Utah this April with the kids and this thread has great info. We are driving from NorCal to Salt lake and then to Moab (Arches and Canyon Land). From there south and to Bryce and Zion. Then to vegas. And finally socal to visit family. I really appreciate the local info. Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
kott3670 said:
If anyone knows any petrified forests that are actually worth the drive I would love to know
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Escalante Petrified Forest State Park in Utah is ho hum. The 2nd largest concentration of petrified wood in the US, which is great because it is fairly remote, is off the Burr Trail road in Utah (37deg48'13.57"N, 111deg12'26.65"W). And then there is the granddaddy of them all, Petrified Forest National Park in AZ.
 
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